Pep Guardiola faces right-back roulette for Man City vs Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola threw Gabriel Jesus’ name into the ring when discussing his options for right back, should John Stones not be fit to face Real Madrid tomorrow night. That was clearly a case of plucking a name out of the air, as Jesus was flavour of the moment after his four goals against Watford, with Guardiola laughing off the idea that he could pick the Brazil number nine at full back.

But he is short of a satisfactory solution, in desperate times, with Kyle Walker injured and Joao Cancelo suspended. Jesus is quick, aggressive and did a good defensive job, albeit as a winger, on Real’s attacking full back Dani Carvajal, the last time these two teams met, but against Vinicius Junior City need an experienced defender.

Nathan Ake or Oleks Zinchenko could be asked to do a job, although their left-footedness could make that awkward — of course, City have played most of the season with a right-footer at left back so there is a precedent.

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Guardiola noticeably rested Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva for Saturday’s game to keep them fresh, and they are likely to form a front three. Foden’s progress to the point where he is an automatic choice for big games was confirmed last season when he was a key figure against Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

The straightforward nature of the win against the Hornets meant Kevin De Bruyne could sit out the final half-hour and get some energy back in his legs, too.

The importance of winning 2-1 in the Bernabeu in the Champions League two years ago, and then driving home that advantage with the same scoreline in the return leg, cannot be underestimated. The Blues had racked up good wins in the